HB1281 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB095 07640 RAS 27791 b

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
HB1281

Introduced 2/20/2007, by Rep. Angelo Saviano

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

225 ILCS 325/3	from Ch. 111, par. 5203
225 ILCS 325/4	from Ch. 111, par. 5204
225 ILCS 325/8	from Ch. 111, par. 5208

Amends the Professional Engineering Practice Act of 1989. Provides that the exemption from the Act of services performed by employees of a business organization engaged in utility, industrial, or manufacturing operations, or by employees of laboratory research affiliates of such business organization, that are rendered in connection with the fabrication or production, sale, and installation of products, systems, or non-engineering services of the business organization or its affiliates does not extend to the construction, rehabilitation, or reconstruction of infrastructure, utility systems, or manufacturing processes of the business organization on its property, or on public property or rights of way where such work may impact the health, safety, or welfare of the public or business organization employees. Removes provisions exempting from the Act the services, for private use, of contractors or owners in the construction of engineering works or the installation of equipment. Provides that examples of "professional engineering practice" include fire protection systems and control systems. Removes the Test of Spoken English (TSE) from the group of tests that an applicant for licensure who graduated from an engineering program outside the United States or its territories and whose first language is not English may submit certification of passage of to the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning regulation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Professional Engineering Practice Act of 1989 is amended by changing Sections 3, 4, and 8 as follows:

(225 ILCS 325/3) (from Ch. 111, par. 5203)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2010)

Sec. 3. Application of the Act; Exemptions.

(a) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent the practice of structural engineering as defined in the Structural Engineering Practice Act of 1989 or the practice of architecture as defined in the Illinois Architecture Practice Act of 1989 or the regular and customary practice of construction contracting and construction management as performed by construction contractors.

(b) Nothing in this Act shall prevent:

(1) Employees, including project representatives, of professional engineers lawfully practicing as sole owners, partnerships or corporations under this Act, from acting under the direct supervision of their employers.

(2) The employment of owner's representatives by the owner during the constructing, adding to, or altering of a project, or any parts thereof, provided that such owner's representative shall not have the authority to deviate from the technical submissions without the prior approval of the professional engineer for the project.

(3) The practice of officers and employees of the Government of the United States while engaged within this State in the practice of the profession of engineering for the Government.

(4) Services performed by employees of a business organization engaged in utility, industrial or manufacturing operations, or by employees of laboratory research affiliates of such business organization which are rendered in connection with the fabrication or production, sale, and installation of products, systems, or nonengineering services of the business organization or its affiliates. This exemption does not extend to the construction, rehabilitation, or reconstruction of infrastructure, utility systems, or manufacturing processes of the business organization on its property, or on public property or rights of way where such work may impact the health, safety, or welfare of the public or business organization employees.

(5) Inspection, maintenance and service work done by employees of the State of Illinois, any political subdivision thereof or any municipality.

(6) The activities performed by those ordinarily designated as chief engineer of plant operation, chief operating engineer, locomotive, stationary, marine, power plant or hoisting and portable engineers, electrical maintenance or service engineers, personnel employed in connection with construction, operation or maintenance of street lighting, traffic control signals, police and fire alarm systems, waterworks, steam, electric, and sewage treatment and disposal plants, or the services ordinarily performed by any worker regularly employed as a locomotive, stationary, marine, power plant, or hoisting and portable engineer or electrical maintenance or service engineer for any corporation, contractor contract operator, or employer.

(7) The activities performed by a person ordinarily designated as a supervising engineer or supervising electrical maintenance or service engineer who supervises the operation of, or who operates, machinery or equipment, or who supervises construction or the installation of equipment within a plant which is under such person's immediate supervision.

(8) (Blank). The services, for private use, of contractors or owners in the construction of engineering works or the installation of equipment.

(c) No officer, board, commission, or other public entity charged with the enforcement of codes and ordinances involving a professional engineering project shall accept for filing or approval any technical submissions that do not bear the seal and signature of a professional engineer licensed under this Act.

(d) Nothing contained in this Section imposes upon a person licensed under this Act the responsibility for the performance of any of the foregoing functions unless such person specifically contracts to provide it.

(Source: P.A. 91-91, eff. 1-1-00.)

(225 ILCS 325/4) (from Ch. 111, par. 5204)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2010)

Sec. 4. Definitions. As used in this Act:

(a) "Approved engineering curriculum" means an engineering curriculum or program of 4 academic years or more which meets the standards established by the rules of the Department.

(b) "Board" means the State Board of Professional Engineers of the Department of Professional Regulation, previously known as the Examining Committee.

(c) "Department" means the Department of Professional Regulation.

(d) "Design professional" means an architect, structural engineer or professional engineer practicing in conformance with the Illinois Architecture Practice Act of 1989, the Structural Engineering Practice Act of 1989 or the Professional Engineering Practice Act of 1989.

(e) "Director" means the Director of Professional Regulation.

(f) "Direct supervision/responsible charge" means work prepared under the control of a licensed professional engineer or that work as to which that professional engineer has detailed professional knowledge.

(g) "Engineering college" means a school, college, university, department of a university or other educational institution, reputable and in good standing in accordance with rules prescribed by the Department, and which grants baccalaureate degrees in engineering.

(h) "Engineering system or facility" means a system or facility whose design is based upon the application of the principles of science for the purpose of modification of natural states of being.

(i) "Engineer intern" means a person who is a candidate for licensure as a professional engineer and who has been enrolled as an engineer intern.

(j) "Enrollment" means an action by the Department to record those individuals who have met the Board's requirements for an engineer intern.

(k) "License" means an official document issued by the Department to an individual, a corporation, a partnership, a professional service corporation, a limited liability company, or a sole proprietorship, signifying authority to practice.

(l) "Negligence in the practice of professional engineering" means the failure to exercise that degree of reasonable professional skill, judgment and diligence normally rendered by professional engineers in the practice of professional engineering.

(m) "Professional engineer" means a person licensed under the laws of the State of Illinois to practice professional engineering.

(n) "Professional engineering" means the application of science to the design of engineering systems and facilities using the knowledge, skills, ability and professional judgment developed through professional engineering education, training and experience.

(o) "Professional engineering practice" means the consultation on, conception, investigation, evaluation, planning, and design of, and selection of materials to be used in, administration of construction contracts for, or site observation of, an engineering system or facility, where such consultation, conception, investigation, evaluation, planning, design, selection, administration, or observation requires extensive knowledge of engineering laws, formulae, materials, practice, and construction methods. A person shall be construed to practice or offer to practice professional engineering, within the meaning and intent of this Act, who practices, or who, by verbal claim, sign, advertisement, letterhead, card, or any other way, is represented to be a professional engineer, or through the use of the initials "P.E." or the title "engineer" or any of its derivations or some other title implies licensure as a professional engineer, or holds himself out as able to perform any service which is recognized as professional engineering practice.

Examples of the practice of professional engineering include, but need not be limited to, transportation facilities and publicly owned utilities for a region or community, railroads, railways, highways, subways, canals, harbors, river improvements; irrigation works; aircraft, airports and landing fields; fire protection systems, waterworks, piping systems and appurtenances, sewers, sewage disposal works; plants for the generation of power; devices for the utilization of power; boilers; refrigeration plants, air conditioning systems and plants; heating systems and plants; plants for the transmission or distribution of power; electrical plants which produce, transmit, distribute, or utilize electrical energy; works for the extraction of minerals from the earth; plants for the refining, alloying or treating of metals; chemical works and industrial plants involving the use of chemicals and chemical processes; plants for the production, conversion, or utilization of nuclear, chemical, or radiant energy; forensic engineering, geotechnical engineering including, subsurface investigations; soil classification, geology and geohydrology, incidental to the practice of professional engineering; energy analysis, environmental design, hazardous waste mitigation and control; recognition, measurement, evaluation and control of environmental systems and emissions; control systems; automated building management systems; or the provision of professional engineering site observation of the construction of works and engineering systems. Nothing contained in this Section imposes upon a person licensed under this Act the responsibility for the performance of any of the foregoing functions unless such person specifically contracts to provide it.

(p) "Project representative" means the professional engineer's representative at the project site who assists in the administration of the construction contract.

(q) "Registered" means the same as "licensed" for purposes of this Act.

(r) "Related science curriculum" means a 4 year program of study, the satisfactory completion of which results in a Bachelor of Science degree, and which contains courses from such areas as life, earth, engineering and computer sciences, including but not limited to, physics and chemistry. In the study of these sciences, the objective is to acquire fundamental knowledge about the nature of its phenomena, including quantitative expression, appropriate to particular fields of engineering.

(s) "Rules" means those rules promulgated pursuant to this Act.

(t) "Seal" means the seal in compliance with Section 14 of this Act.

(u) "Site observation" is visitation of the construction site for the purpose of reviewing, as available, the quality and conformance of the work to the technical submissions as they relate to design.

(v) "Support design professional" means a professional engineer practicing in conformance with the Professional Engineering Practice Act of 1989, who provides services to the design professional who has contract responsibility.

(w) "Technical submissions" means designs, drawings, and specifications which establish the standard of quality for materials, workmanship, equipment, and the construction systems, studies, and other technical reports prepared in the course of a design professional's practice.

(Source: P.A. 91-91, eff. 1-1-00; 91-92, eff. 1-1-00; 92-16, eff. 6-28-01; 92-145, eff. 1-1-02.)

(225 ILCS 325/8) (from Ch. 111, par. 5208)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2010)

Sec. 8. Applications for licensure.

(a) Applications for licensure shall (1) be on forms prescribed and furnished by the Department, (2) contain statements made under oath showing the applicant's education and a detailed summary of the applicant's technical work, and (3) contain references as required by the Department.

(b) Applicants shall have obtained the education and experience as required in Section 10 or Section 11 prior to submittal of application for examination, except as provided in subsection (b) of Section 11. Allowable experience shall commence at the date of the baccalaureate degree, except:

(1) Credit for one year of experience shall be given for a graduate of a baccalaureate curriculum providing a cooperative program, which is supervised industrial or field experience of at least one academic year which alternates with periods of full-time academic training, when such program is certified by the university, or

(2) Partial credit may be given for professional engineering experience as defined by rule for employment prior to receipt of a baccalaureate degree if the employment is full-time while the applicant is a part-time student taking fewer than 12 hours per semester or 8 hours per quarter to earn the degree concurrent with the full-time engineering experience.

(3) If an applicant files an application and supporting documents containing a material misstatement of information or a misrepresentation for the purpose of obtaining licensure or enrollment or if an applicant performs any fraud or deceit in taking any examination to qualify for licensure or enrollment under this Act, the Department may issue a rule of intent to deny licensure or enrollment and may conduct a hearing in accordance with Sections 26 through 33 and Sections 37 and 38 of this Act.

The Board may conduct oral interviews of any applicant under Sections 10, 11, or 19 to assist in the evaluation of the qualifications of the applicant.

It is the responsibility of the applicant to supplement the application, when requested by the Board, by provision of additional documentation of education, including transcripts, course content and credentials of the engineering college or college granting related science degrees, or of work experience to permit the Board to determine the qualifications of the applicant. The Department may require an applicant, at the applicant's expense, to have an evaluation of the applicant's education in a foreign country by a nationally recognized educational body approved by the Board in accordance with rules prescribed by the Department.

An applicant who graduated from an engineering program outside the United States or its territories and whose first language is not English shall submit certification of passage of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the Test of Spoken English (TSE) as defined by rule.

(Source: P.A. 91-92, eff. 1-1-00; 92-145, eff. 1-1-02.)